In 1959, Reid married his high school sweetheart, Landra Gould. They have five children, a daughter and four sons.<ref>[http://reid.senate.gov/about/index.cfm ''United States Senator for Nevada, Harry Reid'' "Biography"]</ref>

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In 1959, Reid married his high school sweetheart, Landra Gould. They have five children, a daughter and four sons.<ref>[http://reid.senate.gov/about/index.cfm ''United States Senator for Nevada, Harry Reid'', "Biography"]</ref>

Harry Mason Reid (b. December 2, 1939, in Searchlight, Nevada) is a Democratic member of the United States Senate from the state of Nevada. Reid was first elected to the Senate in 1987. He has served as Senate Majority Leader since January 2007.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Reid is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Reid was born in Searchlight, Nevada. Reid attended Southern Utah University and graduated from Utah State University. He then went to George Washington University Law School earning a J.D. while working for the United States Capitol Police.[1]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Reid's academic, professional and political career:[1]

1969-1970: Nevada State Assembly

1977-1981: Chairman, Nevada Gaming Commission

1983-1987: U.S. House of Representatives

1987-present: U.S. Senate

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2011-2012

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[2] The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Reid's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[3]

National security

American intervention in Syria

Reid spoke to the Senate in support of military intervention in Syria. He said, "If we allow Assad’s use of chemical weapons to go unchecked and unanswered, hostile forces around the world will also assume these terrible attacks of demons like Assad are permissible, they’re OK. Americans cannot allow that. My mind returns to that turning point in the world history when the United States of America faced down an evil regime that murdered millions of innocent citizens. Millions and millions of civilians and prisoners of war were murdered by gas in Nazi death camps.” Reid added, “Some prefer isolation. That’s the easy thing to do. But sitting on the sideline isn’t what made the United States of America the greatest nation in the world in years past. Sitting on the sidelines won’t make us a better nation tomorrow.”[4]

Reid on Syria

John Brennan CIA nomination

Reid voted for the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.[5]

Economy

Government shutdown

On September 26, 2013, in regards to the government shutdown, Reid said that there would be no concessions from the Senate on Obamacare to avoid a government shutdown.[6]

Reid and other Democratic leaders said that they would only accept a clean continuing resolution. He refused to say whether he would accept a one-week continuing resolution from House members, which could be a last-minute safety valve if the two chambers cannot agree on a longer solution.[6]

“I’m not going to speculate on what they are going to do. We have all made it very clear: We’ll have a clean CR,” Reid said. “Right now, they do not know what they are going to do. They’re throwing all this mud to see what sticks on the wall.”[6]

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[7] The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Reid voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.[8]

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Reid voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.[9]

Healthcare

Reid said that he was not worried about the Healthcare.gov difficulties impacting Democrats negatively in the 2014 election cycle. He said, "I think it’s going to be good for them. By that time, there will be a lot of people on it that have already signed up. It’ll be fine." He added, "We have 21 Democratic senators that are up, and … we’re watching two or three of them closely, but to take over the majority they’d need six seats. I’m not cocky, but I am comfortable where we are. I think we’re in pretty good shape." He also defended President Barack Obama's claim people could keep their insurance plans. He said, "Remember what the president said: ‘If you like your insurance, you can keep it.’ There is nobody in America that has the same insurance that … they had when he said this. We’ve had three different years. The policies are only for one year." He added, "I still go back and say what I said earlier. What he said was true. If you want to keep the insurance you have you can keep it. The problem is … we did not put the bill into effect that way. There’s a lot of administrative things that kicked in, and there have been three changes in anyone’s policy since then. It’s not the same policy."[10]

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Reid voted against Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.[11]

Social Issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Reid voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.[12]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Reid voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.[13]

IRS targeting

On May 10, 2013, news broke that various branches of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had specifically targeted conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status. This began during the tea party surge in 2010. The agency was separating tax-exempt applications by searching for political terms such as "tea party" and "patriot." In June 2011, an IRS official was briefed on these transgressions and asked that this practice end. The flagging continued, however, when the criteria was changed in January 2012 to look out for groups educating on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.[14]

The targeting included allegations that tea party groups were forced to provide information not asked of other tax exempt groups. Examples of this included requests for donor information, Facebook posts, resumes and political intentions of group officials and connections to other groups.[15][16]

On May 16, IRS Commissioner Steven Miller announced his resignation. He still testified at the hearings the next day.[17]

As a result of this scandal, Republicans and many Democratic members of Congress, including Reid, publicly called for a deeper investigation into these matters. The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on May 17 during which it was disclosed that the Obama administration was made aware of the targeting on June 4, 2012.[18]

On May 20, Senators Max Baucus and Orrin Hatch sent a written inquiry regarding the process for how the agency reviewed applications for tax exempt status. The letter also requested any correspondence between White House officials and the IRS mentioning 501(c) organizations.[19]

During the May 22 House committee hearing on the issue, Lois Lerner, head of the IRS tax-exempt organizations office, declined to answer questions citing her Fifth Amendment right.[20] The next day, May 23, Lerner was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation after Senators John McCain and Carl Levin called on IRS officials to place her on suspension.[21] Lerner retired on September 23, 2013.[22]

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.[23] According to the report, Reid secured $21.5 million to build a bridge over the Colorado River, linking the gambling resort town of Laughlin, Nev., with Bullhead City, Ariz. Reid owns 160 acres of undeveloped land in Bullhead City.[24]

Criticism of Ted Cruz

Reid had harsh words for Republican Senator Ted Cruz in October 2013. He said he hoped that Cruz runs in 2016 for President because it would bring down the GOP. Reid explained, "If I didn’t care so much about our country, I would hope he would get the Republican nomination for president, because that would mean the end of the Republican Party. With Ted Cruz, I am sure this will help him raise more money." He added he was not worried another shutdown would happen because of how badly the most recent shutdown damaged the Republicans poll numbers. However, Reid lashed out at moderate Republicans that voted with the tea party Republicans--"My disappointment in all of this is not the 80 or 90 people who live in some other political world that I don’t understand. But my disappointment is the so-called moderates who went along with this vote after vote after vote. Einstein said this, pure definition of insanity is somebody who does something over and over and over again and expects a different result. So that was my No. 1 concern, that these so-called moderate Republicans went along with this crazy stuff." He also commented on an incident with Senator Tom Coburn. At a New York Young Republican Club meeting in October 2013, Coburn was discussing camaraderie in the U.S. Senate. He specifically mentioned a good relationship with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), but when it came to Sen. Harry Reid, Coburn's sentiments were not so positive. According to attendees, Coburn referred to Reid as an "absolute a--hole."[25]
Reid said that he didn't believe Coburn meant what he said and they had worked out their issues.[26]

"Nuclear option"

On November 21, 2013, Reid invoked the "nuclear option," cutting the 60-vote threshold required for executive branch nominees to reach the floor for confirmation votes to a simple majority vote. The rule change came after Senate Republicans blocked three D.C. Circuit Court judges from confirmation.[27] Tensions in the chamber have become increasingly hostile, and the decision to invoke the "nuclear option" is expected to make problems worse. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated, "Some of us have been around here long enough to know that the shoe is sometimes on the other foot." He continued, "You may regret this a lot sooner than you think."[28]

The "nuclear option" was not popular with John McCain either. Prior to giving a speech on the floor criticizing the change, McCain told Reid, "I'm going to kick the crap out of you." Expecting the criticism, Reid replied, "John, I would expect nothing less."[29]

The rule change passed by a vote of 52-48, with three Democrats voting against the change.[27]

Opinion of Rand Paul

Reid has apparently grown fond of Rand Paul despite ideological differences. In December 2013, he said, "I met in the last few days with Rand Paul, spent a lot of time with him, and I have grown to really like him. He’s — even though he has some set political views, he wants to get things done here. And I find that throughout the Republicans. I think they want to get things done. And I hope that’s true."[30]

Floor time in 2013

According to analysis of CSPAN video by the Los Angeles Times, Reid spent 30 hours speaking on the floor in 2013. He was beat by Jeff Sessions, who held the floor for 33 hours.[31]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Harry Reid, click [show] to expand the section.

2004

On November 2, 2004, Harry Reid won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Richard Ziser (R), Thomas Hurst (L), David Schumann (T), None of These Candidates and Gary Marinch (T) in the general election.[33]

U.S. Senate, Nevada General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Harry Reidincumbent

61.1%

494,805

Republican

Richard Ziser

35.1%

284,640

Libertarian

Thomas Hurst

1.2%

9,559

Independent American

David Schumann

0.7%

6,001

N/A

None of These Candidates

1.6%

12,968

Natural Law

Gary Marinch

0.3%

2,095

Total Votes

810,068

1998

On November 3, 1998, Harry Reid won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated John Ensign (R), Michael Cloud (L), Michael Williams (T) and None of These Candidates in the general election.[34]

U.S. Senate, Nevada General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Harry Reidincumbent

47.9%

208,621

Republican

John Ensign

47.8%

208,220

Libertarian

Michael Cloud

1.9%

8,129

Natural Law

Michael Williams

0.6%

2,781

N/A

None of These Candidates

1.9%

8,113

Total Votes

435,864

1992

On November 3, 1992, Harry Reid won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Demar Dahl (R), H. Kent Cromwell (L), Joe Garcia Jr. (T), Harry Tootle (T), Lois Avery (T) and Other in the general election.[35]

U.S. Senate, Nevada General Election, 1992

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Harry Reidincumbent

51%

253,150

Republican

Demar Dahl

40.2%

199,413

Libertarian

H. Kent Cromwell

1.5%

7,222

Independent American

Joe Garcia Jr.

2.3%

11,240

Populist

Harry Tootle

0.9%

4,429

Natural Law

Lois Avery

1.5%

7,279

N/A

Other

2.7%

13,154

Total Votes

495,887

1986

On November 4, 1986, Harry Reid won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jim Santini (R), H. Kent Cromwell (L) and Other in the general election.[36]

U.S. Senate, Nevada General Election, 1986

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Harry Reid

50%

130,955

Republican

Jim Santini

44.5%

116,606

Libertarian

H. Kent Cromwell

1.9%

4,899

N/A

Other

3.6%

9,472

Total Votes

261,932

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Reid is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Reid raised a total of $33,722,950 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 25, 2013.[37]

Harry Reid's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2010

U.S. Senate (Nevada)

$24,815,104

2004

U.S. Senate (Nevada)

$8,907,846

Grand Total Raised

$33,722,950

2010

Breakdown of the source of Reid's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Reid was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. His campaign committee raised a total of $24,815,104 and spent $25,975,547.[38]

U.S. Senate, Nevada, 2010 - Harry Reid Campaign Contributions

Total Raised

$24,815,104

Total Spent

$25,975,547

Total Raised by General Election Opponent

$28,162,049

Total Spent by General Election Opponent

$28,262,487

Top contributors to Harry Reid's campaign committee

MGM Resorts International

$199,850

Weitz & Luxenberg

$112,850

Girardi & Keese

$105,200

Simmons Cooper LLC

$105,200

Caesars Entertainment

$83,600

Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee

Lawyers/Law Firms

$3,680,169

Securities & Investment

$1,272,208

Lobbyists

$1,059,990

Real Estate

$903,431

Health Professionals

$786,615

Analysis

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.[39]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Reid missed 94 of 8,799 roll call votes from January 1987 to April 2013. This amounts to 1.1%, which is better than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of April 2013.[41]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Reid paid his congressional staff a total of $2,465,489 in 2011. He ranks 9th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranks 35th overall of the lowest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Nevada ranks 42nd in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[42]

Net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Reid's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $2,565,061 and $6,178,999. That averages to $4,372,030.00, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2012 of $13,566,333.90. Reid ranked as the 32nd most wealthy senator in 2012.[43]

Harry Reid Yearly Net Worth

Year

Average Net Worth

2012

$4,372,030.00

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Reid tied with two other members of the U.S. Senate, ranking 7th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators.[44]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Reid ranked 18th in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators.[45]

Political positions

Voting with party

2013

Harry Reid voted with the Democratic Party 94.8% of the time, which ranked 30th among the 52 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.[46]

Personal

In 1959, Reid married his high school sweetheart, Landra Gould. They have five children, a daughter and four sons.[47]

Recent news

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